written by Barbara Dunne. Barbara (she/her) is a widowed single parent, visual artist and emerging poet, based in Connemara. She holds a degree in Fine Art and has studied at Trinity College, Galway University and ATU. She has been published in Skylight 47, Crannóg, The Storms Journal, Howl; New Irish Writing and other various journals.Her poetry appears in two anthologies, Shadows (2018) and Opening Up (2021). In 2022, she was short-listed for the Open Window Mentoring Award in conjunction with Cúirt Literary Festival, Over the Edge Literary Events and Skylight 47. She has received course bursaries from Poetry Ireland, The Irish Writers Centre and The Munster Literature Centre.
The fields, clean cut of all their long-haired grasses
are circled by crows, ladies’ black fans at a funeral
dipping and twisting over the dead. The bales
are piled into neat rows of stocky soldiers
some standing to attention, some listing, all
casting long shadows in the evening glow
of late summer and pliantly waiting
to be dismantled. Soon to covered in black plastic
and redeployed as fodder to hungry cattle.
In this moment, time stands waiting
waiting for the swallows to retreat
and the routine return of school
while three generations soldier on
in a fleeting harmony of purpose.
Image: Untitled 5 by Robin Mentel
Robin (he/him) has been doing photography for about 5 years now, and it has since been become a passionate of his. Robin tries to dip their toes into all kinds of photography, but became fond of portrait, abstract, and wildlife photography.
